Tears of the Stars
by Rain7
Summary: A Harper story where he meets an old girlfriend and finds out he has a daughter.... *Complete*
1. The meeting

Disclaimer: I don't own the show but this story is mine.  
Spoilers: None as of yet  
Summary: Harper goes shopping and meets someone he hasn't seen for a long time.  
My younger sister who loves writing and has a brilliant imagination is going to write this story with me though she doesn't actually watch Andromeda (Yet!)   
  
  
Tears of the Stars  
  
Harper was walking through the crowds of people and the various stalls. Dylan had givin him a shopping list, money, the keys of the Maru and told him to be back in eight hours. He had gotten almost everything he needed.   
  
He was admiring some nanotechnology being advertised on a stall when he heard a voice behind him that he thought he recognised. He turned to look and it took him a minute to make her out through the crowds of people passing by.   
  
She was talking to a woman at the services desk, it was Harpers sharp hearing that allowed him to hear her voice but anyone in this place would honestly have to shout to be heard.  
  
For a minute he just looked at her, seeing how much she hadn't changed and how much she had. She was still as beautiful as he had remembered. Her long, dark hair her brown eyes, her pale skin, her smile.   
  
He remembered everything he had loved about her, the way she laughed, her face when she was furious with him, her nature. He woke himself out of his reverie enough to approach her.   
  
He made his way past the people, dodging here and there trying to keep her in sight. Finally he reached her. She didn't notice him, her attention was focused on the woman at the desk. It was evident from her face that she was angry, finally she said one last anger-filled comment and turned to leave, turning her back to Harper at the same time.   
  
He almost walked away then, he almost let her leave again, like the last time, but something in him made him reach out, touch her shoulder with his hand.   
  
"Tara?"  
  
She turned to face him and he looked into eyes he hadn't seen for almost five years.   
  
"Shay? Harper?"........... 


	2. The surprise

The flashback is from when Harper was on Earth before the Maru but bear in mind I haven't seen Bunker hill yet. 1 hour 51 minutes to go till it's on. Not that I'm counting of course.   
  
Tears of the stars Chapter 2  
  
Harper and Tara made their way to a small cafe so they could talk. They had a lot to talk about but once they had sat down, neither of them said anything.   
  
"So," Harper began tentatively "How have you been?"  
  
"Good, I've been good, and you?"  
  
"Good, I've been good too"  
  
Tara had been staring at Harper like she was seeing a ghost. Harper began to feel uncomfortable with her staring.  
  
"Why are you staring at me like that?" It came out more accusing than he had intended it to be but before he could apologise to her, she spoke.  
  
"I, I thought you were dead Harper, when I tried to contact you again they told me you were dead. I guess I wasn't expecting to see you again."  
  
Harper smiled.   
  
"I wasn't expecting to see you either, it's just like old times, except we aren't on Earth of course"  
  
"We had some good times, didn't we and some really bad times. Remember we used to watch the sunset and we'd plan what we would do when we got off that dead planet."  
  
"Yeah I remember, we had some good plans like we'd open our own restaurant or grow grapes and make wine, or there was that whole lap-dancing club thing............."   
  
Harper trailed off, grinning. Tara gave him a stern look and then erupted into laughter. It was good to hear her laugh again. She had been so sad, angry and determined before she left.  
  
*Flashback*  
  
"You can't leave, not now Tara." Harper was angry at her, didn't she love him?  
  
"Come with me Shay, we can leave together"  
  
"You know I can't leave not now, not yet. The rebellion....."  
  
It was Tara's turn to be angry now, she was beautiful when she was furious. "Your rebellion will be over before it even begins, you know that, you don't have a chance Harper! And a rebellion will just make the Nietscheans worse."  
  
The tone of her voice changed, there was a desperate pleading underneath the anger.  
  
"Come with me Harper, please come with me."  
  
He looked at her sadly. "Tara, this is my home and if there is a chance of freeing it, I have to try."   
  
She looked at him, so in love with him and yet she was being pulled further and further away. "Well I guess this is goodbye then................"  
  
* Flashback End*   
  
God, it had been five years and he still loved everything about her. Tara was looking nostalgic again, her mind was somewhere else. When she spoke her voice was soft and quiet.  
  
"Remember when we saw the Northern lights, the Aurora. We'd never seen them before and, I thought that the stars were crying, that they were the tears of the stars, so beautiful and so sad." Her eyes filled with unshed tears.  
  
He reached his hand across the table and took her hand.   
  
"And for you to turn up now Harper it's... it's"  
  
She got up abruptly, pulling her hand out of his. "I have to go Harper, it was.... good seeing you again."   
  
She turned to leave, then turned back to him. Her eyes were wide, she was shaking visibly.   
  
"Harper there is something you need to know. I swear I didn't know until it was too late, after I'd left and then, then they said you were dead and........."  
  
She took a deep breath and continued.  
  
"Harper, I was pregnant when I left Earth, the baby was yours. I, I have to go"  
  
And with that she left, leaving a shocked Harper staring after her. 


	3. The questions

Disclaimer: Quotes are from Alison Krauss, That kind of love.   
  
  
I'm going change the summary as the story progresses, this is an extra long chapter, because I haven't posted for a few days. Thanks for the reviews, they're all very encouraging!   
  
  
  
  
  
"Who would sell their soul for love, or waste one tear on compromise. It should easy enough, to know a heartache in disguise"  
  
  
So, anyway there Harper was, sitting, staring after Tara. Do you ever just stop for a second, look around you and wonder how you got where you are? How you ended up in this situation?   
  
Well, that was what Harper was thinking. Right after the endless chant of 'oh my God I'm a father' or 'maybe a father'.   
  
He didn't know if she'd kept the baby. The Tara he'd known would have, but maybe she wasn't the person he'd known and he wasn't sure what her family, who she'd left to be with, would have thought of the situation.   
  
But, five years, and now he was stuck here, realising too late he needed to go after her because he didn't know where she lived or how contact her. And he needed answers before his head exploded with all the thoughts blinking through it.  
  
It was like an adrenaline rush, the kind you get when you almost get hit by a bus and then it dies and your left exhausted and drained.   
  
He stood up, a little unsteady, and then headed out of the cafe, not really paying attention to how much he paid for the bill.   
  
'How could she do this to him? Not tell him! Well, of course she thought he was dead and they'd had a huge argument right before she left.'  
  
He didn't know what to do, how to contact her. But as he stepped out of the cafe a waitress ran out after him.  
  
"Sir!, excuse me sir but I think your friend left this" She held out a black purse, the one Tara had been carrying. She must have forgotten it in her hurry to run away from him.  
  
"Oh, thanks" he mumbled as he took it from her. Then it hit him, there might be ID or an address or contact number in this. He might be able to get answers. And he needed answers, she owed him those at least.  
  
He headed back to the Maru, he'd have to go back to the Andromeda first, give Dylan the supplies he'd gotten and then take the Maru and go find Tara. All in good time.   
  
  
  
I did consider leaving the chapter like this but I won't....  
  
Back on Andromeda,  
  
Harper landed the Maru and went out to see the others. He's checked out Tara's purse on the way back. She lived on the space station he'd been buying supplies at.   
  
He would have to go back and find her. But he didn't want to tell his friends what was going on, not yet. He just needed a reason to go back.  
  
He met Dylan on his way to command. He had a plan.  
  
"Hey Dylan, I'm back!"  
  
"Did you get everything we needed?" Dylan looked distracted.  
  
"Almost, but I met this dealer who can have a replacement flux valve by tomorrow so I'm going to head back to the station to pick it up. He's giving me a good deal on it."  
  
"Great, you can take Trance with you" Harper looked up at him with barely disguised horror.  
  
Dylan laughed. "It's not that bad Harper, Trance just mentioned that she wanted to go shopping for some things or plants, something like that. Just agree to meet her back at the Maru."  
  
Harper did not want Trance to know what he was doing, she had a tendency to know things before everyone else and to know if something was going on.   
  
She would be too curious about everything. And he wasn't ready or prepared for that. He smiled at Dylan and said, "Sure". Then he headed to his quarters, to think.   
  
He tossed and turned as the minutes and hours ticked by, it was a long time before the sleep overtook him. And then he dreamed, of battles, ships and a screaming child.  
  
. . .  
  
  
The next day on their way to the station  
  
"ETA about an hour, okay Trance?" Harper looked over his shoulder at Trance who was reading something.   
  
He turned back to his sitting and staring at the screen.   
  
A sudden beeping woke him from his reverie, it was a distress call.  
  
"Trance we're receiving a distress call from the station, audio only"   
  
He played the message.  
  
"This is Lesonta station, we have been attacked and boarded by the Drago-Katsof pride we need immediate assistance, this is Lesonta...."  
  
Harper turned the message off and looked at Trance.  
  
"Trance send a message to the Andromeda, tell Dylan to get here and that we'll go on ahead."  
  
"But Harper, are you sure we shouldn't wait for them?"  
  
There was a population of maybe 400 on the station, it was small but it serviced a large area.   
  
"We could wait Trance but by the time they get there it may be too late."  
  
Trance heard the urgency in his voice and an undertone of something she couldn't quite place. She went to send the message to the Andromeda.   
  
. . .  
  
They were too late anyway, by some minutes. The Drago-Katsof were gone by the time they'd arrived.   
  
They docked and entered the station. There was widespread panic, people screaming running. They finally got someone to tell them what happened.  
  
"They were gathering up people, young and fit people...just taking them from their homes, their beds........"  
  
They were gathering slaves, ever since the slave revolts they had been gathering more and more to try and compensate. There had been other attacks like this. They're target this time had been mostly young people.  
  
Harper made the decision, he needed to find Tara, but first they needed to help.   
  
"Where is your infirmary?" Trance was asking questions of a security guard trying to direct people.   
  
He gave her directions and she set off with Harper following her.   
  
There were cries all around them, people looking for those they'd lost, people comforting others. It was just like being back on Earth after a magog raid.   
  
He found her, in the infirmary. She had been shot in the chest, she was barely conscious and her chances didn't look good.   
  
When she saw Harper, her eyes lit up and she tried to speak.   
  
Harper shushed her, trying to calm her.   
  
"They took her Harper, they took her, you have to find her." There were tears streaming down her face and Harper realised, his face too.   
  
"Her name is Aurora, I named her after the Northern lights, remember Harper. You have to find her, please......."  
  
She faded into unconsciousness. Harper gently wiped the tears from her face and whispered "The tears of the stars."   
  
  
  
"With no guarantee, it seemed to me, at least it should be fair. But if it's only tears and pain, isn't it still worth the cost? Like some sweet saving grace or a river we must cross" 


	4. The answers

Disclaimer: Some lyrics thrown in here- Dire Straits and some other stuff.   
Thanks again for the reviews! Sorry for any delay, most of it was not my fault. That's all, and onwards to the story!  
  
  
  
"Harper, what's going on, who is she?" Trance was looking anxiously at Harper as some medics tended to Tara.  
  
"Uh, she, she's an old friend, girlfriend I had on Earth. Her name is Tara, she....."  
Harper trailed off, just staring into space.   
  
"Who was she talking about, she kept saying 'find her'. Find who?" Trance seemed all innocent and unknowing but Harper knew better.   
  
"You know better than I do Trance"   
  
"Okay so, she's what, your daughter who has been taken by Dragan slavers. What are you going to do about it?"  
  
That was a good question, what was he going to do, what could he do?   
  
Well, the way he saw it, there were two choices- he could take the Maru and go off in search of her by himself, to be eventually rescued by the Andromeda and then they'd help him find her, or he could go back to the Andromeda, tell Beka and Dylan everything and then they can help him find her.  
  
He turned his attention to Tara and asked one of the medics, "Is she gonna be okay?"  
  
"She is stable for the moment but only time will tell"  
  
Harper decided that if they were going to leave, he had better leave a message for Tara. "If, when she wakes up, tell her we have gone to find Aurora and that we'll be back"  
  
"C'mon Trance. We'd better get back" Harper grabbed Trances arm, and started in the direction of the Maru.   
  
The Andromeda was still an hour away but the station seemed to have gotten things under control. They were still counting the number of those missing.   
  
. . .  
  
Back on the Andromeda, again. A few hours later.  
  
"So let me get this straight, you have a daughter, who is around four years old and has been kidnapped by the Drago-Katsof. Her mother, an ex-girlfriend of yours, is critically ill on the station and you want us to go after the Dragans and find your daughter."  
  
Dylan was looking at Harper incredulously not really believing the tale Harper had just told them.   
  
"That's about it yeah. So what do you say?" Harper's face was anxious and worried. Dylan was surprised, Harper really wasn't certain what Dylans reply would be.  
  
"We'll find her Harper, and hopefully the rest of the missing stationers as well."  
  
"Alright people let's get to work, Rommie can you find which way the Dragan ships went, Beka you pilot. Harper I need you to do any critical repairs if we're going to have a run-in with the Dragans. Tyr on weapons and Trance, help Harper"  
  
They all set off to do their jobs, each thinking about what they had just heard. Not one person on the ship, not even Tyr, disagreed with Dylans decision. They'd find Harper's daughter, whatever it took.  
  
"Somewhere out there, someone's saying a prayer, that we'll find one another and meet somewhere out there."  
  
  
. . .  
  
Rommie had been tracking the Nietzchean ship through slipstream for nearly two hours when they reached a highly populated system.   
  
"They might be somewhere in this system, it's a trade system on the Drago-Katsof border. Lot's of ships passing through."   
  
"It's also," supplied Harper, "A well known slave trade area that supplies the Drago-Katsof through a kind of demand-supply system. Every new slave would be enter the territory through one of these. "  
  
Dylan wondered briefly how Harper knew so much about slave trade, but decided not to pursue it.   
  
"Okay, so we go down and do a little exploration. See if we can find out where they sent the stationers, if they're not still there."  
  
Dylan had the feeling that they were looking for a particle of dust in a nebula.   
  
. . .   
  
The station was like any other, busy. They had hidden Andromeda behind an unpopulated moon and had taken the Maru. Trying to be inconspicuous wasn't their strong point.   
  
After much searching, asking of discreet questions and bribing of merchants, they were directed to a man named Sidius Wrench, who was said to be a dealer in "workers" for the Dragans.  
  
Dylan decided that maybe it would be best if he and Rommie went in alone. Tyr and Beka had gone to check on some other sources they had found.   
  
Harper was left by himself, wandering around waiting for the others.   
  
Unfortunately, they had forgotten that this was a slave trade system, and people were most vulnerable in ones. And Harper was the most vulnerable of all.   
  
He remembered reaching for his force lance, and shouting a surprised "Hey!", then darkness.   
  
. . .  
  
"The fireworks over liberty exploded in a heap........."  
  
He woke up to the floor shaking beneath him. He touched his head where he'd been hit. His hair was matted and sticky with blood.   
  
He looked around him. In the dim light he could just make out a lot of people, standing, sitting, lying on the ground. Well, this wasn't a hospital anyway. And he was on a ship, a moving ship.   
  
He turned to see a young man sitting near him with his back to the wall. The first question out of his mouth, though he couldn't have told you why, was, "Where are you from?"  
  
"Lesonta station, we're all from there"  
  
Harper registered the fact with some shock.   
  
"Where are we and where are we going?" He was sure he already knew the answer but it was always good to be sure.   
  
"We're on a slave ship and we're heading to a Drago-Katsof slave planet."  
  
"......And it's your face I'm looking for, on every street." 


	5. The found

Tears of the stars, Part 5   
Disclaimer: Lyrics from the Devlins.   
  
The update delay was because the site was down, and our internet connection was lost for a few days. Thanks to anyone who has reviewed so far. And I will be finishing this story but not today. It has rained every day since May here but we've had one nice day of sunshine yesterday and about 100,000 more umbrella's have been sold than usual.   
  
Since it's been a while since I could update, I'll do a quick summary of the story so far.   
  
Harper met a former girlfriend, Tara, while shopping, finds out that when she left him four years ago she'd been pregnant with his child. He goes back to find Tara only to find the station had been attacked, Tara was badly hurt and his daughter, Aurora, has been taken by the Dragans along with a lot of the other stationers. The Andromeda sets off to find them but while making enquires in a system bordering the Drago-Katsof territory, Harper is attacked and finds himself aboard a slave ship heading to a Dragans planet and all the stationers are with him. The universe has a strange sense of humour, with jokes only it finds funny. And so we continue where we left off........  
  
Back on the Maru  
  
"How could we have been so stupid! Leaving him alone in a system notorious for slave trading. I really am Captain idiot!"  
  
Dylan was pacing along the Maru's deck. A very concerned Beka was leaning against the wall.   
  
"Your not the only idiot here, we should have been more careful"  
  
"Careful?! Beka, we lost him and we have witnesses saying they saw him attacked and captured by men working for Sidius Wrench. We may as well have sold him ourselves the way we just left him on that street."  
  
They were both so busy telling each other what idiots they were that they did not notice Tyr walk in.   
  
He silently observed the shouting match between them, and when both Dylan and Beka paused to take a breath he spoke, in his usual Tyr manner.  
  
"If you two are quite finished establishing how idiotic we have all been, may I suggest we concentrate on finding Harper" he shouted the last few words at them and they both stared at Tyr, silenced by his rage.   
  
With that he walked out to talk to Rommie who was piloting them back to the Andromeda. Without a word both Beka and Dylan followed.   
  
. . .   
  
Harper was walking around the room they were being held in. There were bunks on three of the four walls, the fourth wall was where the door was. There were about 100 people give or take in the room, it was small and crowded. Not much care given to comfort but then it was a slave ship.   
  
There were people sitting, lying, standing. They all looked worried and the atmosphere was tense. The sandy-haired young man with him was called Kieran.  
  
*note: Kieran or Ciaran. The English spelling might be more recognised so I used it instead of the Irish*  
  
He was from Lesonta station and had been captured during the raid. When Harper asked him about Tara he hadn't known her. So now they were looking for someone who might know where his daughter was.   
  
"I'd only been working on the station a few weeks, I don't know everyone but I know the people who've been there the longest."  
  
A lot of the people here were young, but Harper couldn't see any children and didn't know what Aurora looked like.   
  
While he looked around Kieran went to talk to some people sitting in a group on some of the bunks. One of the women nodded her head to his questioning and said something that was so soft even Harper's sharp hearing couldn't hear it.  
  
Kieran walked back to him. The look on his face was grim.   
  
"Did you find out anything?"   
  
Harper voice was anxious, he was beginning to suspect something bad, very bad was going on. He knew from the report that a number of children were taken from the station but none of them were here. There were a number of reasons that this could have happened but Harper didn't like any of them.   
  
"Well, the women I was talking to knows Tara and said she'd a daughter everyone called 'Rora and that she was with the group who where captured. But, all the children were separated from us when we boarded the ship. So she is on the ship, but........."  
  
Harper didn't need Kieran to finish the sentence. They didn't know where she was and they couldn't get out of the room. Well, not yet anyway. The genius Harper had a plan.   
  
. . .  
  
Back on the Andromeda..... Three hours after the loss of Harper  
  
"I located and tracked Harper lifesigns but he was on a ship that entered Drago-Katsof space just over an hour ago"  
  
"Well than, Beka, follow that ship!"  
  
"You have a plan" Beka looked at him questioningly  
  
"I have a plan"   
  
Beka stared at him for a few seconds, then..  
  
"Heading into Drago-Katsof space" and quietly she whispered "Hold on Harper, we're coming"  
  
. . .  
  
By asking around and doing a little bit of digging Harper had come up with some tools of a sort. Bits of wire, pieces of metal. Stuff that hadn't been taken off people as they were brought on.  
  
He had been working on the door for an hour already. He wasn't worried about being interrupted. There were no visible cameras in the room and there was a supply of food and water probably supposed to last them the trip.   
  
The others in the room were grouped around him. When they realised what he was trying to do, most offered the bits and pieces they had and Harper had found some useful things to work with. A few people who knew something about locks were offering their advice, but it was slow going.  
  
Kieran asked him a question and he turned to hear what he was saying when suddenly sparks flew and the door opened. He had managed to short the lock.   
  
While he had been working they had been coming up with a plan. Two groups of people would leave the room, going in different directions and trying to find the children and since there was probably a small crew on this ship, try to find the command centre and somehow gain control.  
  
Anyone with any kind of military knowledge or just strength was asked to volunteer as well as some good engineers. There were eight in each group. The rest of the people would stay and the door would be closed, just in case they were checked up on.   
  
The two groups sorted themselves out and said their goodbyes. Harper knew that if they ran into the crew, who were Nietzchean, that some of them might get killed, but it was better than waiting to arrive at a slave planet.  
  
He and Kieran took the lead and quietly and carefully began walking down the corridor.   
. . .  
  
"Waiting... waiting for the right queues, waiting in a daydream, waiting in the slipstream, waiting, waiting through your whole life, waiting for an ideal.....   
  
"How long until we reach the ship?" Dylan was watching all the screens anxiously.  
  
"Approximately 30 minutes"   
  
"Any sign of Nietzchean forces?"  
  
"None, but we are on the outskirts of their territory, they may not have noticed us yet"  
  
Dylan laughed but it wasn't a happy laugh.  
  
"Oh I'm sure they've noticed, they're just biding their time"   
  
Dylan's expression was grim, it mirrored Beak's and Trances, Rommies and even Tyrs. He hated the waiting.  
  
".......and if you ever need someone, I'll still be waiting. I said it's alright..... it's alright"  
  
. . .   
  
Harper needed a plan and he needed it fast. They had checked three rooms so far. But they were exactly like theirs only empty.   
  
Any minute now they were going to be found. As they rounded the corner a fourth room came into sight and Harper heard the distinct sound of crying from behind the door. He reached the door and opened it.   
  
There were about twenty children in the room. Some were crying loudly and some quietly. Some were just sitting on the floor rocking back and forth. Some were curled up on the bunk beds. A few were standing, sitting looking calm, but scared.   
  
As they saw Harper some ran and hid on and under the bunks. Other backed away to the far end of the room, wary. But some of the older children stood their ground, others that were sitting stood up and looked at the group as they walked into the room.   
  
Kieran stood beside Harper and smiled.  
  
"We found them."   
  
As the others of the group filed in there were shouts of recognition. And some of the children ran to the adults. Others stayed where they were and some of the adults came to them. Harper looked around at the children. He had no idea what she looked like.  
  
Then he saw a girl, she looked about five. She was standing beside one of the bunks and she was staring at him. He face reminded him of Tara, her eyes were the same colour, her face the same shape, her hair was long and dark.  
  
He walked towards her and she looked up at him. He crouched down beside her. His heart was playing a beat of it's own. He spoke softly, quietly so as not to frighten her.  
  
"What's your name?"  
  
"Aurora" her lip trembled and her eyes were shiny, she looked like she was going to cry.   
  
He smiled softly at her and said, "My names Harper, and I'm here to take you home"   
  
Harper would never be able to describe the emotion he felt when the little girl smiled at him, her brown eyes shining with happiness. It was something akin to joy, only more than that.  
  
Nor would he ever be able to describe how he felt, when the voice at the door spoke and he looked up to see two Nietzcheans with big weapons standing there.  
  
"Well isn't this a nice little reunion........"   
  
. . .  
  
Okay we've got maybe two or three chapters till the end of this story. Hopefully it'll be done over the next week or so. I hope anyone who is reading it is enjoying it and that I'm not boring, or confusing or upsetting anyone. All and any reviews are very appreciated. 


	6. The end

Disclaimer: A quote from Dire Straits once more and the show belongs to Tribune and I just borrowed stuff and it is all being returned, mostly intact.  
  
Okay I know I said two or three more chapters but I won't be here the next while so I've finished it. Thanks again for the reviews, I agree about the dodgy lyrics and quotes I added but I enjoyed writing this and I hope that people enjoyed reading it.   
  
  
On Andromeda......  
  
"Fire a couple of warning shots at them"  
  
They had caught up with the slave ship on it's way through Drago-Katsov space and were attempting to encourage them to co-operate.   
  
"Try communicating with them again, maybe they'll be more willing to listen now"  
  
Tyr spoke from his station.   
  
"Well they should, we're bigger, more powerful and they must feel very small compared to us"  
  
"They are powering down engines and weapons, and preparing to surrender"  
  
Dylan was surprised, things didn't usually go so easily. So this might be a trap or, maybe he was getting paranoid.  
  
. . .  
  
As the guards at the door entered the room, the ship rocked at the proximity of the weapons fire. The stationers took that opportunity to rush the guards throwing themselves on top of them,  
  
It then became a struggle for weapons, and the guards even with their superior strength were outnumbered and quickly overthrown.   
  
They now had two weapons. And Harper needed another plan.   
  
"Alright, we split up, one group takes the kids and goes back to the rest of the stationers then try and find some other way off this ship. The rest of us will try and take control of the command and turn the ship around."  
  
The group split us, Harper went with the second group to command and Kieran with the first group took Rora and the rest of the children back to the others.   
  
Harper's group quickly ran into problems as they found half of the second original team dead, and littered through one corridor. Apparently they too had run into guards but had faired worse than Harper's group.   
  
But things got better from there. As they reached the command, they found the door open and the other half of the group alive and well and holding a Nietzchean male and a female hostage.  
  
And when Harper checked the sensors and found the Andromeda right there things seemed to be looking up.   
  
As the rest of the group cheered at the victory, Harper checked the long range sensors and wasn't surprise by the approaching Drago-Katsov ships.  
  
He remembered a saying he had heard long ago - "every victory has a taste that's bittersweet"  
  
. . .  
  
Andromeda detected the Drago-Katsov ships before Harper did.   
  
"What are those ships ETA?"  
  
"Approximately 30 minutes, Captain. And we're being hailed by the slave ship."  
  
"Put it on screen, lets see what they say"  
  
Dylan was very surprised to see Harper.   
  
"Hey Boss, I'd love to tell you all about our adventures but there's this really big group of ships coming so.... can we dock in the Hanger bay?"  
  
Everyone on the command smiled with relief at the sight of Harper.   
  
"Permission granted, fast as you can Mr.Harper and nice to have you back."  
  
"Aye, Captain" And Harper gave Dylan a mock salute before cutting the transmission.   
  
In ten minutes they were docked and the Andromeda took off racing to get beyond the border before those ship caught up with them, then they'd head for the nearest slipstream.   
  
. . .  
  
After the escape, and the swift exit from Drago-Katsov space......  
  
They were heading back to Lesonta Station. Apart from the casualties from the second group, the rest of the people were unharmed but a bit shaken. They were all happy to be heading home.   
  
Harper had left Aurora with the other children on the observation deck, because Dylan had wanted him in command.  
  
"Hey Dylan, you called?"  
  
Dylan didn't look happy and Harper began to suspect something was wrong.  
  
"Is something wrong?"  
  
Dylan couldn't bring himself to meet Harper's eyes.  
  
"We have just received a transmission from the station. Harper, Tara's injuries were too great and she suffered a secondary infection. They weren't able to save her, I'm so sorry"  
  
Harper heard the words but they seemed distant and echoing. He saw Beka approach him and felt her hug him but it was all unreal to him.   
  
She couldn't be dead, he had just found her.  
  
"Harper," Dylan was speaking to him again and he struggled to concentrate.  
  
"We sent a message to them telling them we had found the stationers, so Tara knew that Aurora was safe before she died"  
  
It was little consolation too him. Aurora, Rora, how was he going to tell her? How do you tell a child this? How can they understand that people can go away and never come back?   
  
. . .  
  
He took her to hydroponics and they sat down surrounded by plants and flowers. It was peaceful there.  
  
"Rora we need to talk about your Mom."  
  
Rora looked up at him and nodded. He looked just like the man in the picture her Mommy used to show her every night. The picture of her Dad.  
  
"Your Mom was hurt after the attack on the station and the doctors tried to help make her better..." Harper tried to swallow the lump in his throat and hold back the tears.  
  
"....but your Mom was really sick. She held on until she had made sure you were safe but the doctors couldn't help her and, and she died."  
  
Two tears trailed down Harper's face  
  
Rora took all this in quietly and thought of what her mother had said about dying.  
  
"You mean Mommys gone to heaven and she won't be coming back, ever?"  
  
Harper looked at her, than hugged her to him.  
  
"Yes, Moms gone to heaven but she's not really gone. She just, isn't here to do things she used to do like, hug you or say goodnight but I can do those things for her...."  
  
Harper trailed off not really knowing what to say but Rora continued his sentence for him.  
  
"Cos your Daddy, and you'll look after me. But, I wish Mommy was here......"  
  
And Rora sobbed quietly on Harper shoulder as he comforted her.  
  
. . .  
  
Two weeks later........  
  
They were sitting on a beach near Rora's grandparents house on Ashen Pale, a planet in a small system near the Perseid homeworld. It was safe here. Rora loved being here.  
  
Harper had a decision to make. He could leave Rora here with her Grandparents where she'd be safe and happy or he could take her with him on the Andromeda, where she'd be with her only parent and where she'd be equally as happy.   
  
As Rora played in the sand, Harper thought things through. Tara's funeral had been a week ago. He still missed her so much, wishing they'd had more time together.   
  
He watched his daughter play in the sand and put stones and shells on the big sandcastle they had built together a short while ago.   
  
The Andromeda crew and Rora's grandparents would support him, whatever he decided to do as long as there were visits either way. Beka and Trance had been quite taken with Rora, even Dylan and Tyr had.   
  
But the decision was his.  
  
Rora had grown tired of decorating her sandcastles and came to sit by Harper.  
  
"Hi, Daddy" She sat next to him and they watched as the sun began to set turning the sky red. The sunset happened quickly here.  
  
As the sky turned black and the stars came out. Lights shimmered across the sky, so similar to the Northern lights of Earth.  
  
"This used to be Mommys favourite place to be, watching the lights."  
  
Rora sighed softly.  
  
"I miss her"   
  
Harper looked at Rora her face lit by the lights in the sky, two tears trailing down her cheeks.   
  
His decision was made.   
  
He wiped the tears from her cheeks and hugged her close and whispered to the sky   
  
"Tears of the Stars............"   
  
The End. 


End file.
